Diageo Honors America's Leading Spirits, Wine and Beer Distributors at 7th Annual Golden Bar Awards in New York

News provided by

Jul 21, 2010, 01:40 ET

NEW YORK, July 21 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Diageo, the world's leading premium spirits, wine and beer company, honored spirits, wine and beer distributors at the Seventh Annual Golden Bar Awards at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City Monday night.

The Golden Bar Awards, the beverage alcohol industry's equivalent of the Academy Awards, celebrates distributors and brokers from across the United States for their excellence in the marketplace and the important role they play in their communities.

Ivan Menezes, President and CEO of Diageo North America commended Diageo's distributors for their hard work and contributions to a very successful year in the industry, despite a difficult environment, remarking, "Tonight, we honor and applaud the achievements of the best of the best among us. What makes our winners truly spectacular is that they show all of us what we can do when we are at our best – even under challenging conditions."

Larry Schwartz, Diageo USA President, also commented on the importance of execution in the current market. "Looking at the past year, we have all navigated through the economic challenges together, as a team, and emerged stronger. Tonight is a night to celebrate our combined strengths and absolute resolve, and to reiterate our commitment to this wonderful business."

The Golden Bar Awards recognize the efforts of distributors and brokers that represent Diageo's spirits, beer and wine brands including Smirnoff, Captain Morgan, Guinness and Beaulieau Vineyard. Awards are also given for Innovation Launches, Control States, Three-Year Consistency, and Distributor of the Year. A special Platinum Bar Award was given for Advancing Responsible Drinking in the spirits, beer and wine categories.

In total 34 statuettes, 32 made with 24 carat gold, and two made with platinum, were awarded to distributors. Each Golden Bar statuette weighs eight pounds, stands more than a foot tall, and is produced by R.S. Owens, the company that created the Oscar(R), presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Below are the categories and winners for the 2010 Golden Bar Awards:

DISTRIBUTOR OF THE YEAR
Distributor of the Year - Spirits	Wirtz Beverage of Illinois
Distributor of the Year - Wine	Atlantic Wine & Spirits, a Division of Empire Merchants, LLC, Metro New York
Distributor of the Year - Beer	Premium Distributors of Washington DC

SPIRITS
Spirits Excellence Award - Smirnoff	Alabama Sales Company, Alabama
Spirits Excellence Award - Johnnie Walker	Reliable Churchill of Maryland
Spirits Excellence Award - Jose Cuervo	Wirtz Beverage of Illinois
Spirits Excellence Award - Baileys	Alliance Beverage of Arizona
Spirits Excellence Award - Captain Morgan	Southern Wine & Spirits of Nevada
Spirits Excellence Award - Tanqueray	Pinnacle Distributing of Colorado
Spirits Excellence Award - Crown Royal	Coastal Wine & Spirits of Florida
Spirits Excellence Award - Ketel One	Wirtz Beverage of Illinois
Reserve Brands Execution Award - Spirits	Atlantic Wine & Spirits, a Division of Empire Merchants, LLC, Metro New York
Control State Excellence Award - Spirits	Southern Wine & Spirits of New Hampshire
Winning at Retail Award - Spirits	Coastal Wine & Spirits of Florida
Advancing Responsible Drinking Award – Spirits and Wine	Alliance Beverage of Arizona

BEER
Beer Excellence Award - Guinness	Amoskeag Beverages, New Hampshire
Beer Excellence Award - Smithwick's	Alliance Beverage of Arizona
Beer Excellence Award - Red Stripe	Pacific Beverage, California
Beer Excellence Award - PABs	Glazer's McAllen, Texas
Advancing Responsible Drinking Award - Beer	Andrews Distributing of North Texas

WINE
Wines Excellence Award - Sterling Vineyards	Alliance Beverage of Arizona
Wines Excellence Award - Beaulieu Vineyard	Ben Arnold Distributing Company, South Carolina
Wines Excellence Award - Chalone Vineyard	Odom-Southern Distributors, Washington
Wines Excellence Award - Acacia Vineyard	Glazer's of Louisiana
Wines Excellence Award - Edna Valley Vineyard	Alabama Crown, Alabama
Wines Excellence Award - Rosenblum Cellars	Coastal Wine & Spirits of Florida

INNOVATION
Innovation Launch Award - Spirits	Georgia Crown Distributing, Georgia; Reliable Churchill of Maryland; Washington Wholesale - District of Columbia
Innovation Launch Award - Wine	Washington Wholesale - District of Columbia
Innovation Launch Award - Beer	J&L Ventures, Georgia

GOLDEN BAR CONSISTENCY AWARDS
Golden Bar Consistency Award - Spirits	Reliable Churchill of Maryland; Washington Wholesale - District of Columbia
Golden Bar Consistency Award - Beer	Premium Distributors of Washington DC

About Diageo

Diageo (Dee-AH-Gee-O) is the world's leading premium drinks business with an outstanding collection of beverage alcohol brands across spirits, wines and beer categories. These brands include Johnnie Walker, Guinness, Smirnoff, J&B, Baileys, Cuervo, Tanqueray, Captain Morgan, Crown Royal, Beaulieu Vineyard and Sterling Vineyards wines.

Diageo is a global company, trading in more than 180 countries around the world. The company is listed on both the New York Stock Exchange (DEO) and the London Stock Exchange (DGE).

For more information about Diageo, its people, brands, and performance, visit us at Diageo.com. For our global resource that promotes responsible drinking through the sharing of best practice tools, information and initiatives, visit DRINKiQ.com.

Celebrating life, every day, everywhere.

SOURCE Diageo